The Environment Agency has today revealed how the money generated
from over 900,000 licence sales has been reinvested into
fisheries across the country.
The Annual
Fisheries Report sets out how £20,900,000 in income from
fishing licences, further boosted by £1,400,000 of government
funding, has been reinvested to maintain, improve, and develop
fisheries, carrying out surveys of fish stocks, improvements to
habitats, and supplying and restocking more than 450,000 coarse
fish.
One of the key projects largely funded through fishing licence
income is the Environment Agency’s National Fisheries Laboratory,
based in Cambridgeshire. The laboratory carries out vital work to
identify, monitor and limit the current and future threats such
as fish diseases and non-native species on fisheries and the
environment.
The work undertaken by the lab is pivotal to the ongoing
monitoring of the health of fish populations and informs fishery
management actions, advice, and regulation. In 2022/23, £562,000
was invested into the laboratory, this allowed for the assessment
of 112 fish mortality events relating to potential fish disease,
40 health checks were carried out to enable safe stocking of over
half a million fish and over 1,500 queries were responded to in
support of national incidents, fishery management advice and
guidance.
Throughout the year, the EA has worked with over 1,000 partners
including The Angling Trust, The Wild Trout Trust and the
Freshwater Biological Association, delivering projects such as
the ‘Get
Fishing’ campaign and the ‘Anglers
Riverfly Monitoring Initiative’, welcoming new anglers to the
sport and helping to increase the involvement in citizen science.
Heidi Stone, Environment Agency Fisheries Manager
said:
“Funding from fishing licence money feeds into every aspect of an
angler’s experience, improving fish stocks, providing new
facilities, and helping to protect our environment. Our fisheries
staff also use their expertise to support wider environmental
work with specialist advice and guidance.
“It is great to see the work that we have been able to carry out
with our partners, using the money made to invest directly back
into our fisheries and angling services.”
Funded directly by fisheries licence income, the Fisheries
Improvement Programme (FIP) has funded 198 projects that have
helped to improve and protect rivers, construct fish passes and
enhance stillwater fisheries. In particular, Nutsey Lake in the
Test Valley, was suffering from banksides being in bad condition
and low fish stocks. Through FIP, the project has received funds
to remove sediment, improve bankside habitats and install a solar
aerator to improve water quality and boost fish stocks.
During 2022/23, fisheries licence income also funded:
- 1,200 fish stock surveys
- 39,159 fishing licence checks were carried out by Environment
Agency enforcement teams with the support of the Angling Trust
Voluntary Bailiff Service (VBS). 1,949 offence reports were
issued, and 265 anglers were prosecuted for fishing without a
licence
- EA response to 407 incidents involving dead or dying fish,
including reports of pollution and fish disease
- Improvements to fish habitats on 347km of rivers in
England
- Supply and stocking of almost 455,439 coarse fish including
barbel, roach, bream, tench and grayling
- Initiatives to provides facilities to anglers, encourage more
people into the sport and make fishing more accessible for
all
- More than 50 projects through the Angling Improvement Fund
(AIF) managed by the Angling Trust to protect fisheries from
predators, such as cormorants and otters
- Improvements to over 52 hectares of still water
fisheries
- Monitoring, research, and development work to deliver
sustainable fisheries management
Anglers must have a valid fishing licence to fish in England and
Wales, they can be purchased online or by phone and received by
an email, text or letter.
More information:
